3 steps to creating a smartphone free school: educate, activate, communicate.
We've drawn on the experiences of secondary schools in a variety of settings across the UK to identify three clear steps for going genuinely smartphone-free.
Step 1: Educate
Understand how smartphones are currently impacting children at your school.
Educate parents and children on the evidence of harm and benefits of removing them from the school day.
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How?
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Pupil surveys: anonymously survey students’ about their current smartphone usage, exposure to upsetting or inappropriate content via their smartphones and experiences of online bullying, to help build consensus about the scale and urgency of the problem within your school community.
Parent events: typically only a small minority of parents and carers will turn up to information sessions but those individuals can be important champions and the act of hosting a dedicated event flags smartphones as an urgent issue. A Q&A session at the end of the event gives parents the opportunity to share their feelings and concerns.​​​
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Click here for a sample survey and to book a talk
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Step 2: Activate
Create a policy framework that genuinely removes access to smartphones wherever children are under your care and which addresses all logistical implications for the running of the school day.
How?
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A complete ban of smartphones and personal internet-enabled devices from the school site, with a no-see, no-hear policy for brick phones and adequately severe consequences for any breach (eg confiscation of smart devices for a number of weeks) is the easiest policy for schools to police and dissuades parents from buying their children a device in the first place. It's also the cheapest to implement. Some schools are introducing this on a rolling basis, starting with new year 7s, with lockers or pouches for older year groups.
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Click here for a sample FAQs document and gold-standard policy
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Step 3: Communicate
Clearly communicate with the whole school community, emphasising the benefits and being specific about the logistics.
How?
The "education" phase in step 1 will have prepared the ground for the new policy so it shouldn't come as a surprise to the school community. Inform students about the new policy during the day and communicate it to the parents that evening. ​Be prepared for vocal backlash from a small minority and silent support from a relieved majority!
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Click here for sample letters from headteachers to parents announcing a complete on-site ban.
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